Military Memories
by mushimio92
Summary: The colonel and his team was due for a photo shoot that summer Friday. Many things happen but despite all odds; they were successful. A few of the memories for the Mustangs team.
1. compliments

Military Memories

"Hey, Havoc. Want to get a drink?" The tall, mildly built solider tilted his head slightly and surveyed carefully at the person who asked. Havoc shook his head after two seconds, gave a mild grin before turning his back upon Kain. He showed a half raised hand and waved as he left. Kain looked simply bewildered; _Havoc's is turning his back on alcohol? This I must tell everyone! _

Meanwhile in the colonel's office, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye was preparing for the next meeting when the door crashed open, to her dismay; the picture which hung beside it fell to the ground.

"Colonel, can't you ever open the door gently?" She asked without looking at the person who had just crossed the threshold, the newcomer scoffed as he flung his coat to the armchair nearby. The lieutenant went to pick up the picture ignoring the hint which the colonel had obviously thrown out that indicated he was upset and needed someone to rant on. She heard him stride noisy away towards his desk, pulling out the drawers one by one with considerable force; and by how panicky it sounded like…

"What happened?" She spoke finally after straightening out the frame and closing the door quietly at the same time.

The colonel heaved a large package from under his desk and with a satisfied grin, he proclaimed "We are going to have a photo shoot this Friday and I just found my suit!" The lieutenant stared unbelievably at him "Seriously, sir?"

She peered at the less than needed mess that littered around where the colonel had been and sighed _mentally _in her brain, _and here she thought something bad happened… _

The colonel was not sharing the moment of awkwardness which the lieutenant was feeling; instead he was pulling out the ribbon on the package while muttering excitedly to himself. _Wow, look at that; I didn't know suits were supposed to look this way. Look at these buttons at the sleeves, how interesting. _The lieutenant gazed on with a raised eyebrow, it was almost as though her superior had become a little kid and was going into a candy store for the first time. She watched as he examined the suit thoroughly, a muse came to her mind. _Have she ever seen the colonel in a suit before? _

The lieutenant pursed her lips discretely and racked her brain for a memory of the colonel wearing a formal black and white tie suit. Deciding that there was probably none, she moved across the room, ignoring the colonel excitable voice in the background as she poured herself a cup of tea. _It would definitely be a weird thing to see the colonel in that… _From the corners of her eyes, the colonel was fondling with the dark shiny buttons which was sewed on the pockets of the blazer. Her eyes gazed on what the colonel was dressed in today; it was the blue uniform she was so familiar with; and the white gloves which represented him and his specialty. And that messy head of black hair along with his overly polished boots; this was more like the colonel she knew and work with. _Yes, this colonel in a suit was surely somewhere between odd and distressing. _

"You know, for once; lieutenant. Can't you look less dead and be…I don't know…involved?" The lieutenant blinked rapidly, she had let her mind wonder off for a moment there and now the silence was starting to get to her superior. He held up the suit and showed it to her as though he was showing a royal degree. "So, how does it look?" He questioned in a tone that was also unfamiliar to the lieutenant. He never asked for her opinion for such things.

She put down the cup to its tray, and surveyed the suit plus the colonel who was next to it.

"It is nice." _That is the truth, the suit is nice. _The colonel frowned a little, "Just nice?"

The lieutenant felt a chill down her spine, she knew the colonel more then she understood herself and for him to rephrase her statement into a question just screamed red flag at her.

"Yes, colonel…The suit looks really nice." She said at last, though not entirely sure if that was what she was supposed to say.

The colonel took in her words and hovered a moment around his desk, before putting down the suit into the box which he unveiled it from. He tore his eyes away from the suit and found himself looking at the lieutenant again.

"Glad to know that you like it then." It was a hallowed empty voice and he looked just as dead as he sound. _Colonel? I… _

A louder crashing sound gave both the colonel and the lieutenant a scare, the door had swung open again but it was two soldiers who had entered. Both of them were talking loudly and seemed to be in a heated conversation so much so that they did not realize that they had walked into a standstill.

"I am telling you, there is something wrong with Havoc." The smaller one piped up confidently.

"No, there is nothing wrong with him; stop imagining already" Breda injected icily as he tried to pushed away the younger one from jumping on him.

Kain pulled Breda's collar, "Then why is he not joining us today?" Breda sighed heavily, "Well, he could have been busy…" The older solider paused so suddenly that caused Kain to recoil right behind him.

"Colonel…Lieutenant?" Kain peeped out from behind his colleague, realizing that his two superiors standing a foot away from each other; looking as though they had a terrible quarrel.

The colonel pushed the package away, and bent over to clear the mess on the floor; not bothering himself in explaining or acknowledging his two subordinates.

"Are you guys alright?" Kain perked up, Breda added a 'Tsk' right after his younger colleague had spoken, _of course something is not alright…This is why you don't have a girl friend kain, you are too naïve. _The lieutenant gave a half hearted nod without looking in their direction, before picking up the nearest pile of paper next to her. To her surprise, as she glanced at the document; it was not of work related content instead it was a list of…

"That is mine" His voice cold and sharp, as he grabbed the paper from her hands shocking both her and their subordinates. Without another word, the colonel swept passed all of them and left.

The lieutenant watched as he passed and gone, she had half the mind to chase after him but what would happen even if she did… _think logical Riza, he is upset at something and I being there would not help the situation… _

"Lieutenant? Did something happen between the two of you?" Breda and Kain approached her, at the same time they began putting most of the misplaced items back into place.

_I'm not sure…Did something happen between us? _


	2. busy day

Uncertainty

The colonel did not appear at work for two days, to most of his subordinate; it was a sign to be worried about him but to certain lieutenant. This disappearing act seemed normal in her book. In fact, she had more important things to worry about.

It was the second time in a week; the main office had borrowed Falman away for some administrative work issue and now with the colonel pulling off a magic trick of disappearance; the colonel's office was bustling and overworked. It was through the fifth pile of paper work where the first sign of crack down creep in.

"When is Falman coming back…?" moaned the young solider as he rested his head on a particularly demanding file write up and his head was about to burst at the seams from all the words and letters he had seen. _Was there so many letters before? _Kain banged his head on the file three times, as though physical pain would help him get over the fact he had to continue his write up.

"Why can't they let Falman come back and help us?" Kain cried out desperately before limping onto his papers.

Breda 'Tsk' loudly over at his own desk, which was also filled with papers and files however Breda seemed to be handling the stress pretty well. And the reason for that was the stain and crumbs all over his uniform, twelve donuts and a shot of Firebeet (energy drink) was all it took to keep his nerves down but now it was about to crumble because of his colleague who was right opposite complaining logically.

"Kain, keep your voice down. I can hear you from here, and honestly it is getting onto my nerves." Breda warned, he pressed his pen onto his paper with pressure almost making full stop was about to become a hole. He shook his head mentally; the stress was getting to all of them. This was too much work for just three people in the office.

Breda glanced around the office, the colonel and Havoc had not reported in for work and Falman was borrowed away. The office seemed much bigger without them, their desk and seats were empty. His eyes gazed over to the large package on the colonel's desk; it had been there since that day.

"_Did something happen between the two of you?" Breda asked cautiously as they approached their superior. She did not show any emotions as she replied, in a way that was unusual. The lieutenant was known for not having too much emotions written on her face because she trained herself to be this way but now this was different…It was as though this was her true face and it was how she was feeling._

_They watched as she glanced to the door where the colonel had just left, "No, nothing happened…" She answered calmly before leaving to the inner room. _

_Both Breda and Kain glanced at each other as the door clicked shut, they knew the lieutenant for a while now and that was not her usual self. Breda found himself looking at the large package on the colonel's desk… _

_Something did happen… _

Kain peered up slowly, his forehead was sore from all the nodding he been doing and now he was feeling a little hazy. But as hazy as he was feeling, the young man realized that the scribbling sound from his other colleague had stopped; which also means that he was not doing his work.

"Breda?" Kain called out softly.

"Yeah?" Breda answered his colleague with a half mind; his eyes were staring now at another desk way at the corner nearer to the colonel's desk. It was also piled up with mountains of papers and fasteners, too much so that he could not see the person's head behind that desk.

"I'm worried about the lieutenant…she hasn't left the desk for ages…"

Breda nodded silently as he took in what Kain had mentioned. The lieutenant had not left the desk for four whole hours, it was so quiet too. _What could have happened to her…? _

"Yeah…" Breda said absent mindedly, he needed to check on the lieutenant, worry was starting to creep up to him; ever since that day his superior seemed to be wearing a shell to work and her eyes were empty and hollow. She insisted that she was alright, but now; it is uncertain whether the lieutenant would be trying to suffocate herself to death with work.

Breda stood up quickly and sharply, to his surprise Kain did the same thing. He glanced to the lieutenant desk with meaning written on his face, _we must go and check on her. _Breda gave him a solemn stare; together they approach the desk.

They were about two feet away, when they heard her chair creak suddenly; scaring Kain; followed by shuffling of papers. "Lieutenant, are you…? Breda began but was stop short by the lieutenant who seemed to know what he was about to ask.

"I know…I'm alright really, don't worry too much…" The lieutenant spoke so softly as though she had just recovered from a bad sore throat. Breda and Kain went up next to her, and honestly their heart sank a lot deeper now when they saw her. She had been doing a lot more work then both of them combined, all the stress had fallen onto her shoulders.

"Lieutenant, don't continue please… You need to rest now." Kain said before removing his own coat and putting them over his superior.

Breda stride over to the pantry and returned as quick as possible to the lieutenant side with a glass of cold water, "Why don't you take a break and we all head out for lunch?" he asked hoping she would agree, but as expected she refused with a tired smile and a plain look which said _No thanks, why don't you go instead? _

The lieutenant looked pale and clammy, dark eye bags could be seen around her eyes and her hair was not as neat as it should be.

"I will be alright….don't give me that look, kain. I am okay, really…" The lieutenant did not manage to finish her words, the door slammed open and who else to be walking through those doors then the man who she had been most afraid to see again. However he was not alone, he was flanked with two women whom he had his arms wrapped around their shoulders.

"Come on now, ladies" She heard him cooing to one of them, the one with the brunette hair and pink lipstick with a pair of breast that would kill Havoc in an instant. The woman giggled as the colonel led them through the threshold of the room towards his subordinates. Breda and Kain were simply dumb folded, and the lieutenant on the other hand stood next to her chair observing the colonel and his company.

"You brought some interesting company back, sir." She said coolly, the colonel scoffed and gave the lieutenant a dirty look before hugging the brunette closer.

"Yup, do you like them?" He asked her defiantly.

At that moment, the lieutenant felt a strange twist in her stomach; she glanced at the colonel and the women whom he held so close. _It was nothing…she shouldn't feel anything… _

"Just make sure the main office doesn't see them… you will be in trouble if they do…" She replied in a matter of fact voice without flinching, Breda stared at the lieutenant incredibly, _she is not jealous? _The lieutenant eyes met the colonel's eyes for a second, he looked strange as though something was biting him from the inside but did not say a word nor look at her any more than a second. 

"Roy, let's go somewhere else…please…?" The other woman pleaded, battling her eyelids at him. The colonel gave a smile, _forced, _before leading the women away.

"Lieutenant, take a break."

She looked up at the door but he was no longer there…

_Why, does my heart beat faster when i saw that…? And what was that feeling…? It can't be that…I… no, that cannot happen… _

_It just cannot happen with us… but it hurts… _


	3. desires

Them

There was something in this world which went by the name; desire. It was 'want' and a powder that drove people forward to do amazing, different things. Desire was a strong thought and a sneaky little thing too because it would implant your mind the wishes and hopes that you liked to see at the end but along the way, you might have hurt many other people that you had cared about.

It was three in the afternoon and the sun was blistering hot, outside the building shone white and everyone was carrying an umbrella across the court yard. A heat wave had just passed through the country just two hours ago, causing most of the residents in Amestris cursing or complaining to their neighbors about it. And by most, also include the residents of the Mustang office.

A swish following by a loud stuffy thump made Kain jump from his table slightly, he had been asleep due to the musty warm weather and that loud thump was just next to him. Kain opened his eyes slightly; he was able to see the sunlight beaming in from the window… _wait, he was able to see the window? _Kain raised his head fully, his desk was half cleared from the work he had from an hour ago. There were only four more piles of papers and one more file neatly placed at the edge, this was a strange sight to see and for kain it only meant that she had helped him.

"Lieutenant…Thank you…" he said, addressing the person who was standing next to his desk. There was box in her hands and in them was kain part of his work which she had helped in completing. Kain peered at her gratefully, to which the lieutenant nodded curtly with a hint of mild acceptance before going over to Breda's table. Breda was by far, napping as well; his blue uniform unbuttoned with a string of sweat droplets down the side of his head. _This heat wave was not doing well with Breda's bulky size. _Kain watched with mixed feelings as his superior began to gather the completed documents silently on Breda's table, he had known the lieutenant was a strong person who would never let personal feelings disrupt her work; but after what had happened earlier that day… _how could she not be affected? _

The lieutenant stuffed the last of the documents into the box and heaved it to the ground nearby, her expression stone cold. Kain could not figure out what was going on between the colonel and the lieutenant, because even to him the colonel was also out of his mind as well. _But why is the colonel behaving this way? _

A loud yawn broke into the silence of the office and kain knew that it was his cue to start working again.

Breda never did approve of Kain slacking off during work but allowed himself to bypass that law, Kain mused to himself as the large bulky figure began to rise. _And it was Breda who dozed off before Kain did and how unfair that was. _

"Lieutenant, you shouldn't have." Breda said unhappily when he too realized what the lieutenant had done for him and especially after _that incident too_, he pulled displeased and guilty look while buttoning his uniform up properly.

"It is okay, I've already finished." She said without looking at the both of them, and if she had; she would be surprised at how fast her colleagues' expression had changed. And the reason for being so was that she had never used such a normal tone when it came to work, usually she would sting them with a sarcastic remark about leaving work undone. _Now, the lieutenant is behaving differently as well… _

Kain was about to say something which might have made Breda kick him when the door opened behind them and to all of their surprise it was Falman. Breda was the first one to recover from shock,

"Falman? What are you doing here?" He asked unbelievably almost sounding as though Falman had risen from the dead; the latter raised his eye brows curiously. He crossed the threshold and closed the door behind him respectfully, "The colonel ordered me to return to the office to help you finish the work."

Falman ruffled his hair and glanced around the office, "Where is the colonel anyway?" he asked casually failing to notice that something was not right with his colleagues. Kain and Breda shot furtive glances at each other, and then back to the lieutenant who seemed to have frozen to where she had stood; her expression unreadable.

The furtive glances shooting back and forth was caught by Falman eyes who was catching on with the situation; _there was something going on here _He shot a meaningful look at Breda who shrugged helplessly, they had been trying not to mention the colonel to the lieutenant fearing she might snap if they did and now Breda were afraid that a time bomb had been set up without even being wanted to.

The lieutenant regained her suture quickly, her expression rearranged into a nonchalant one; "We don't know, Falman…" she said finally, "He will return when he wants too." Her words were firm and, that no one else dared to speak up or put forth any more question.

The rest of the day passed without troubles or talk, and the lieutenant left for home right on the dot after muttering a quick good bye which no one heard. Her colleagues on the other hand, stayed behind to fill in Falman about the earlier events; he had missed.

Breda had dragged a portable fan from the meeting room a floor below into their office and set it next to the sofa which his colleagues were resting in.

Kain sat closest to the fan, much to Breda displeasure. "That is my seat." Falman stared at his two friends and shook his head before cupping his hands over his ears.

"But I sat it here first." Whined Kain, he folded his arms and gave Breda a defiant look.

Breda bristled, "I am the one who carried it from the meeting room; give me some credit, will you?"

Kain ignored Breda and turned to Falman, "So I was saying, the colonel who had disappeared for nearly five hours came back to the office with…with…Women." He said after breathing out heavily, as though the mention of women would kill him.

"Kain, don't make me throw you out of the sofa." Breda flexed his muscles warningly, he had begun to sweat again; this heat wave is going to kill him but before that he had some unfinished business to deal with.

Falman put up his fingers to stop kain from talking, kain stared. _Huh? _

"Aw, man… Breda…" Kain groaned a second later; he was now upside down, glasses loped sided and his arms aching painfully. True to his words, Breda had thrown Kain out from the sofa and onto the carpeted floor and he was sitting in kain vacated seat. "I warned you." Breda said satisfied at his work and gave him a large grin. Kain adjusted himself to a seating position while rubbing his head soothingly, "I thought you didn't mean it." He said sadly and to everyone surprise; tears began to form in eyes.

"Hey, wait no. Don't you dare…" Breda said feeling more shocked then everything else, _did he beat the younger solider too hard?_ Breda was starting to feel sorry for his colleague when Kain burst out in hysterical laughter a second after "Haha, I got you good didn't I?" His fake tears dried up quicker than the desert of Ishval.

Breda stared incredulously, "YOU! LITTLE…"

Falman watched amusingly as the older bulkier solider chased the younger mischievous one around the room, _what a joke this is, the soldiers of Mustang's team behaving like children. _And yet, it was this mysterious bond that held all of them together; Falman thought to himself before sipping the cup of cold green tea he had prepared for himself.

_It was another hot summer five years ago, Falman had walked into the office and was greeted by a small solider by his desk. _

"_Private Kain Fuery reporting for interview!" The small solider reported with a tiny voice, Falman surveyed the guy and smiled at him, he was scrawny for his age but at the same time seemed to be radiating with unnatural optimism. _

"_So you will be our new colleague?" Falman asked casually but noticed the smile slide off the solider's face, "I'm not sure, Sir…" _

_Falman shook his head, and patted the little solider on the shoulders "Keep up your optimism and cherish it." _

"_Who knows, we might need a lot of laughter from now on…" Falman told the little solider, who seemed to have taken his words to heart. _

_True enough, Kain joined their ranks and Falman became his mentor; together they were pulling pranks on another colleague of theirs twice a week. And that was Breda…though he was not like them; the three of them became great friends through many arguments. Breda seemed to have a soft spot for Kain as Kain was the only one who could offend Breda and get away with it. _

"So are the two of you done?" Falman asked offhandedly, with both of his friends sitting on either side of him. Kain had finally given in and let Breda have the premium seat and him taking the one furthest from the fan. Kain's face was filled with red swells while Breda's arm was full of dark blue bruises; the two soldiers shared a grin when they caught eyes with each other.

"Oh yes, did you hear; our photo shoot is this Friday?" Falman piped in after the excitement died done a few minutes later.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Breda and Kain. Falman was taken aback by their response as he scanned the shocked faces of his colleagues he had a sudden realization.

"Hadn't the colonel mention this to the two of you yet?"

Breda wringed his hands together nervously, "the colonel, huh…"

"Yeah, he…" Kain added in cautiously but stopped short when he remembered the event they were about to tell Falman.

Falman had a strange feeling, that this story might be a long one. "Tell me about it…"he insisted before taking another sip from his tea.


	4. confrontations and truth

A confrontation and truth

"I can't believe it pouring now…"

The woman pulled out her blue umbrella and continued down the street feeling extremely irate at the weather.

A boy and a girl passed by laughing and smiling, they had forgotten their own umbrellas but it does not really matter to them even if they were soaked to the skin…

"Don't be silly, it is okay, I will be with you forever…"

A middle aged mummy carried her child walking quickly across the street, sheltering the little one with her jacket.

"Don't worry, mummy is here. Hush Hush my dear."

Riza walked silently along the street, she had been roaming aimlessly in the town for an hour now. She had thought about going home since it had began to rain heavily, however there was something in her that refused to let her rest.

She moved along slowly, her eye focused on the grey road in front of her while the rest of her shivered. She had forgotten to bring an umbrella with her today, it was cold and wet but she did not mind, it really did not matter. _Humans were waterproof in the first place. _She was used to the weather beating down on her, just like Ishval; it did not matter what the heat did to her, she had died in those blood stained sand. And…Riza thoughts had landed on the person who… she sighed mentally once again; please _don't let yourself think about him. _

It was a few streets ahead where she realized where she had ended up, she peered into the large glass window and there it was, sitting in a red square box. A simple silver ring with a single diamond embedded at the front. They had been here before, looking at that particular ring. It was a simple outing with the team a few years back, they were roaming the town when the colonel and she came across this shop that sold novelty rings. For some strange reason, Riza had her eyes set on the simplest and cheapest one on the store.

"_Do you like the ring?" The colonel asked her. Riza shook her head without looking at the colonel "I don't need a ring." She tilted her head slightly and looked at her superior gently "We are soldiers remember?" _

Riza took a long look at the ring before allowing herself to smile a little even though what she had thought about was impossible. "It is not…going to ever happen…" She whispered to herself sadly, the rain pattered heavily around her and dark clouds swirled above in the skies.

"Hey, lieutenant…" She heard his voice first, a new feeling rose within her as she turned around, and there he was standing in the rain just like what she was doing. He was drenched to the skin, just like she was and the look on his face told her that he was thinking about the same thing as she was too.

Riza approached the colonel slowly and when they were just a feet from each other, she placed her hand against his cheeks. "Just for this one time…" she told him.

"_You know we can never…Roy…" _

_Roy tightened his jaw, beads of nervousness began to form down his neck. "Don't you tell me you had never…" _

"_I do, I do love you…" Riza was beginning her own fits of nervousness, she did not wish to tell him the truth this way. _

"_Then what is the problem? Why can't we be together?" His heart nearly broke upon his desperateness, he had only loved one woman and that was her; he was so sure she was one so why… _

"_I am not ready to be in any relationship now." Riza looked away to the wall behind him, "I just can't" _

_They stood there quietly, letting her words sink in. "I will see you again after I graduate from military service…" Roy said before walking away leaving Riza alone in the café they were having coffee in. _

"I'm sorry for behaving like an asshole for the past few days…" Roy finally said, Riza peered up at him quietly "I was hoping you would finally respond and tell me that you are ready to accept me into your life…but all I did was hurt you…"

Riza raised an eyebrow and to the colonel astonishment, she gave a small smile. "You mean trying to make me feel jealous and guilt me into being with you?" Roy gulped, _so she already knew? _

"I was jealous…and I was definitely guilty… but Roy, no…We just can't be together…"

Roy put a hand on his chin, "So you are ready but we just can't be together?"

"I did not say that I am ready…" Riza injected quickly

"Yes you did, you said you were jealous and guilty…which also meant there is something else stopping us being together but it was not you, right?" Roy finished his sentence with triumph.

Riza glared at her superior with a horrible look as though she was about to shoot him, but it softened in fact it became kind of mischievous; it was a look which the colonel never knew she was able to show him.

_The military _

_Their duties to the people_

_Their promise to the Ishvalans _

_If everything was like a fairy tale, this would be a happy ending but sadly life do not always have a happily ever after. _


	5. clearing up

Clear up

Kain, Falman and Breda reported early for work the next day, even though it had been raining cats and dogs in the night; they all had the same reason to be enthusiastic. They wanted to see the colonel and the lieutenant, Falman was less then excited when told by Breda and Kain that they were going to snoop around the office to wait for their superiors. He was not such a low person to descend to eavesdropping, but when Kain started to tempt him with a bet Falman could not refuse and that was why he was here, hiding under his own desk, waiting for eight o'clock to come.

"I am pretty sure there is nothing wrong with the colonel. This is stupid…" Falman spat out grudgingly after 15minutes, the small cramped space was less then comfortable since he was tall which caused his shins to poke his forehead every single time he tried to move.

Kain shuffled under his own desk and scoffed, "You are the one who decide to join us in our bet." Falman had a feeling Kain was smiling over at his own desk; it was the truth that he did like to bet and sadly that was his only true weakness that could be exploited. Falman had the impulse to punch something when another voice rang out behind him.

"Will the two of you, hush up? It will be bad if they found out that we are listening in on them." Breda reminded importantly

Falman rolled his eyes, "We shouldn't be hiding under the desk in the first place then."

"Wait a moment, be quiet. They are here…" Kain whispered, and true enough the door opened. The three friends pressed their ears against the wooden table.

The heavy footsteps belonged to the colonel; he removed his coat and chucked them onto the armchair nearby. On the other side of the room, the second pair of footsteps which was the lieutenant walked to her own desk. Neither of their superiors was talking, the suspense was killing.

All of the sudden, a loud continuous rapping series of thumps above their desk scared the three friends out of their skins. "Come on out, we know you are under there."

Breda glanced hesitantly at his other two friends, they sighed and slowly they climbed out; Falman with slight difficulty. Breda could tell that Kain was praying desperately in his mind for his eyes were closed and he was muttering furtively.

Breda, Kain and Falman lined up timidly but orderly in a straight line side by side, as they came face to face with their superiors who looked nothing less of wanting to set them on fire (the colonel) or shooting them in the head (the lieutenant).

The lieutenant glanced at them with a serious look on her face, "I did not know you like hiding under the tables."

Roy leaned against his own desk and surveyed his three subordinate looking so solemn as though someone had passed away. "Second lieutenant Valto Falman, I did not expect you to be this silly." Falman shivered in his skin, he had never heard the colonel call him that way; this was surely the end… _oh god… _

"As a soldier, you are required to be able to obtain information from your enemies without being spotted; all three of you have obvious failed in doing so. As punishment, all three of you will be going to a boot camp next weekend, no excuses."

Falman stared incredibly at his superior while Breda let out a short disbelieved 'hah', Kain on the other end spoke up "What? I thought we were getting punished for eavesdropping on the two of you!" He sounded exceptionally shocked since he was the one who thought of this silly plan and he was about to admit to his stupidity.

For the first time in days, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye smiled at them… "You know, there is something we need to tell you guys. No more eavesdropping, we should tell you the truth." At the end of her sentence, she glanced at the grinning colonel who nodded curtly.


	6. Havoc

A talk with the team

Riza had never seen those expression on her subordinates face before, they looked as though they were shown an extremely heart stopping horror film. Breda looked mortified, while Kain was more sparkly eyed then she ever seen him have and Falman looked dead right speechless.

"That is about it, we had an argument about the suit he was going to wear to the photo shoot. He brought the women to office just to get me mad at him. But we had a talk and everything is alright now."

Breda raised an eye brow suspiciously, "You had an argument?"

"About a suit that the colonel was going to wear?" Falman added in calmly.

Kain shook his head disbelieved by what he had heard, "It sounds as though the two of you were a couple having all this petty fight and stuff…"

"And the colonel brought two beautiful women to the office…" Falman continued slowly as though he himself was trying to sort things out in his mind.

"Just to make you get mad at him?" Breda piped up curiously though half convinced.

Kain tilted his head; a sudden impossible thought crawled into his mind, "Colonel? Are you trying to make the lieutenant jealous…?"

A long awkward silence fell onto the group.

"Why would I? It is not like I have feelings for the lieutenant." Roy replied with a nonchalant tone, Riza on the other hand felt as though a stone have dropped into her gut. She knew that it was not true, but somehow when the colonel said it; it seemed a part of her soul had fallen.

"Yeah, that's right." Riza added in, trying to sound as relieved as possible.

Breda, Kain and Falman stared at her quickly and then back to the colonel who was returning the stare with an emotionless face.

"Urgent message for Colonel Roy Mustang!" shouted someone from the door; it was a soldier from main office. Before anyone else could respond, Riza was already next to the soldier and reading the rolled up piece of paper. The color on her face drained when she finished.

"Havoc is in the hospital." She told them in a shaking voice. The colonel eyes widened quickly and stride towards her side scanning the note she was holding.

"All of you come with me!"


	7. The colonel's heartache

The colonel's heartache

"How could this happen…"

Kain and Breda sat in the chair near the bed, and glanced at their friend who was lying in it. Falman was not able to say a single word since he had entered the ward; Riza was able to find out why after the usual calm man broke down and told the group that he had met up with Havoc two days before in a café down the street of 5th avenue. And he noticed a sudden change in his friend, but did not probe Havoc about it. The most obvious change was that Havoc was no longer drinking alcohol or smoking, which was strange seeing that Havoc was almost obsessive with the two.

Colonel Roy Mustang had not spoken either, his eyes were all focused and dark when he entered Havoc's ward. Riza stood next to him, not speaking; in her mind, another buried memory was surfacing.

"_Please, lieutenant, do not tell the colonel about this. I can settle it myself." _

Riza peered at Havoc's gaunt and pale face for a second before scolding herself mentally inside, she should have just told the colonel…that Havoc taking liver medication and his liver and one of his kidneys were beginning to dysfunction.

"Did you know about his condition?" Riza peered up and realized that the colonel was looking darkly at her.

She would have to tell him the truth and she must face the consequence of concealing the secret from her superior whom was also fiercely protective of his subordinates especially Havoc.

"Why are you raising your voice in my ward?" The colonel spun around almost immediately, and so did everyone who was in the room.

The first lieutenant gave them a dry smile, raised an arm and said almost amusingly, "Sad…I'm still alive."

It happened so quickly, that if anyone had come into the room would swear that the colonel was going to kill the patient in his bed. The colonel had lunched himself forward and grabbed the front of the Havoc patient garb with an equally impulsive voice he shouted angrily.

"WHEN ARE YOU PLANNING TO TELL US ABOUT THIS?" Roy Mustang spat vehemently.

"Colonel!" Riza exclaimed as she held his other arm back in case he tried to punch Havoc. Breda and Falman on the other hand stood in between the colonel and Havoc. Havoc did not look upset instead he had the same face as that day where he lost mobility in both legs.

"Calm down, colonel uptight…" Havoc said almost lazily when Breda managed to pry the colonel's fingers away from the clothes. Riza peered at her superior's face, which was contorted in disbelieve but even as angry or mad he was, the colonel became quiet as though succumbed to reality.

"How bad is it?"

Havoc did not bother to look at anyone, instead he let his eyes focus on the ceiling instead. "Why do you need to know?"

Kain gasped, he had never heard Havoc talk to anyone with such a tone especially to his superior.

"Going to use another stone to save my life again?" Roy clenched his jaw tighter when he heard his subordinates' words, indeed he had used the philosopher's stone to save Havoc from a life time stuck in a wheel chair; but that was the last time he swore to use that thing. It was _made from human lives, so many innocent lives; that stone was nothing but a burden to those who used it._

"Nothing up your sleeves? What a bummer." Havoc added in icily when he noticed how pale the colonel had looked, he peered at the colonel with a grimace. "I guess this time you have retire me for good…Right, colonel?" 

As the night wore on, Breda, Falman and Kain were ordered to return home to rest leaving the colonel and the lieutenant alone with Havoc.

"Havoc…" The colonel was sitting next to his bed with a hand over his forehead, "Why is it impossible to keep you in my team?" Havoc sniggered, "Maybe because your team is always in trouble with monsters, higher ups who wants you dead and you keep stealing my girlfriends too anyway."

"Stop joking around…" Roy injected firmly, so firm that even Havoc fell silent. "It was my best honor to have served in your team, and it will always be but this time you will have to continue your journey without me." Roy stared at his subordinate and once again he felt himself tremble uncontrollably. _Just like that day, the helplessness he was feeling was exactly the same. _

But before anyone else could say a word, the colonel had stride away; kicking the door open and leaving through them wordlessly.

"Havoc…."

"Thank you for keeping the secret for me, I appreciate it." He looked at her gratefully but refused to talk further and turned to his side.

"I have a favor to ask of you…"


	8. Friday memories

Memories

Riza found him in a playground three blocks away from the hospital, it was not hard to find him since it was the same playground which they used to play together during their younger days, it was also the place where he would spend a lot time alone when he was upset. After all, it was where she usually find him when Roy had arguments with Kcarl, Kcarl was their child hood friend who was involved in murders later in his life; and was hanged to death after being confronted by Roy. And she too, being inflicted with an illness then found herself to be the reason of his worry.

There was no one in the playground that late at night except a man who was sitting on the swing, Riza could recognize that back from anywhere.

"Colonel, it is getting late; shall we go home?" Riza said, when the latter did not reply; she shook him a little.

"What…" Roy answered with a gruff voice.

"You need to rest at home, not here." She said firmly, before supporting her superior up from the swing. He did not resist but instead shook himself awake in order to walk properly. "I'm sorry, for worrying you again." Riza stared at the messy dark hair and grimaced "Stay awake until you reach home." She had an arm over him and another supporting him as they walked down the street together.

"Are you still going to the photo shoot?" Breda did not answer and neither did Falman, Kain looked at both his friends and sighed. It was the Friday which they were due for an office photo taking session, but no one was in the mood. Though the colonel did arrive to the office with his suit, there was nothing on his face but sadness and unwillingness. Even when Kain compliment on his formal wear, his superior did not look any happier. Falman peered at Havoc's empty desk and so did Kain, it had been three days since his admission and things weren't looking any better according to Riza who had been doing daily visit. The colonel on the other hand refused to visit Havoc again, Kain suspects that his superior was unable to deal with the lost of his trusted soldier and being away from him was one way to keep him together.

The door to the office opened admitting the lieutenant and to Breda's horror, Black Hayate, Riza's pet Shiba Inu which she adopted from Kain a year ago.

"What is the dog doing here?" Breda yelped as Black Hayate ran forward to greet him, he rushed to the safety of his chair, making sure his legs were above ground. Breda was terrified of dogs, including the one Riza adopted and trained with a gun.

"Black Hayate is one of us; he has to take the photo shoot together." The colonel explained, not really amused by the irrational phobia Breda had. He peered at the clock hanging on the wall above the door, "Its time, we should go downstairs."

The color from Breda's face disappeared, "What…no way…" Black Hayate barked happily, while Breda shook uncontrollably on the chair. Riza deposited her bag in her drawers completely ignoring the pleas of Breda to call her dog somewhere else. "I will be arriving a little late" she told them, before taking a bag away to the bathroom. It was then Black Hayate followed her, to his upmost relief.

"Okay, colonel Mustang, please sit in the middle and second lieutenant Breda, please sit next to him." The photographer's assistant boomed loudly when Mustang's group arrived at the scene. Roy sat down the wooden bench and Breda took his seat next to him. They were in the trees which were blooming cherry flowers, every tree was in bloom and the wind carried the petals to the ground. It was a beautiful place, somewhere where Roy never thought could be found on headquarter grounds.

"Colonel, is that… the lieutenant?" Kain poked him in the shoulders, causing him to look in the direction which Kain was pointing to. He had to rub his eyes twice, it was indeed the lieutenant but what she was dressed in…

The assistant was flabbergasted as Riza approached the group; she was dressed in a traditional Hakuma, it was not red but light pink. The colonel could not find the right words as she sat down next to him; he needed to compliment her but her beauty had caused him to be severely tongue tied.

"You...look nice…" Roy said after getting his tongue untied, Kain sniggered while Breda rolled his eyes. _he can't even compliment a girl of her dress properly. _

Riza gave him a patronizing look but soon replaced it with a slight smile, "You look nice too."

Kain shouted out all of a sudden, scaring everyone who was in the group including the photographer and his assistant.

"First Lieutenant Havoc! Major Armstrong!" Roy turned around so quickly and at once, he broke into a large grin.

Falman went forward to receive the two men, and so did the colonel followed by Breda, kain and Riza.

"How did you know…?" Falman questioned,

"The lieutenant told me, that it was going to be here." Havoc smiled at the lieutenant who nodded back at him, "I can't believe the colonel did not invite me to our office photo shoot." He threw a distasteful look at his superior but Roy did not reprimand.

_I am very happy that you are here… _

The towering Major Armstrong moved forward into view and began to hug the other soldiers much to everyone disdain. "Oh, I am so so so glad to be here in the photo, I must show my gorgeous muscles to everyone!" And with that statement, Major Armstrong removed his shirt and began to pose for the camera. The photographer looked astounded and mostly speechless as he waited for the group to settle down.

They were almost ready when Havoc pulled out a stick of cigarette and lit his lighter, a movement which forced the team to shout out in horror.

"I was just going to pose with my signature cigarette! It is really nothing, I will not puff it!" Havoc exclaimed hurriedly and desperately as the colonel looked quite serious to set the lighter and his cigarette into ashes.

OKAY 1, 2 and… 3!

At that precious moment, Black Hayate jumped onto the colonel's head messing up the colonel's hair in addition scaring Breda out of his wits, kain being really amused with the situation sniggered loudly and audibly, causing Breda to swear that he would injure Kain if he gets his hands on him. Falman was distracted by the over posing and flashing by Major Armstrong.

Only lieutenant Hawkeye and first lieutenant Havoc looked most calm and photogenic at the end of the day.

art/6417/fma-military-memories

**The above is the link to the picture which Team Mustang took that summer's Friday. **


End file.
